More charges set vs. NoCot bus bombing suspect

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 18, 2023): More charges set vs. NoCot bus bombing suspect (By Edwin Fernandez)

NABBED. Police and military forces in North Cotabato arrest suspected local terror group bomb expert Jordan Akmad, 40, (seated) in a safe house in President Roxas, North Cotabato on Tuesday (Jan. 17, 2023). The suspect has been linked to a series of bombing incidents in the province and the Soccsksargen region. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)

COTABATO CITY – Police and military authorities in North Cotabato are set to file more charges against a man who was arrested Tuesday after he was linked to bus bombings in the province and the Soccsksargen region.

Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander, said Wednesday that military troopers arrested suspected terrorist group member Jordan Akmad, 40, alias “Jordan Kamad,” of Barangay Salat, President Roxas, North Cotabato.

Galido said additional charges for murder, frustrated murder, extortion, and terrorism will be filed against Akmad, an alleged improvised explosive device maker of the Dawlah Islamiya - Hassan Group.

Akmad, who had earlier been charged with arson, did not resist arrest when arrested Tuesday dawn.

Army and police intelligence information showed that Akmad was involved in past bombings at bus terminals in North Cotabato, Galido said.

Moreover, Akmad is also associated with Ali Akbar, the leader of the Al Khobar Group, who was arrested in June 2021.

Police said Akbar was one of the masterminds of the Yellow Bus Lines (YBL) bombing in Tulunan, North Cotabato in January 2021 and the burning of another YBL unit in M’lang, North Cotabato in June of the same year that killed four civilians.

Akmad is currently detained at the President Roxas police station under tight security and is undergoing tactical interrogation.

He denied the charges and claimed he is just an ordinary farmer, insisting that he could be a victim of mistaken identity.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192972